E Ink further strengthens collaboration with Plastic Logic

 

E Ink Holdings (Hsinchu, Taiwan), a leading innovator of electronic ink technology, announced a strategic investment in Plastic Logic HK, the newly formed fabless designer and manufacturer of flexible, glass-free electrophoretic displays (EPDs), focused on organic TFT (OTFT) technology that is suitable for developing flexible EPD devices in wearable applications.

The market for wearable technology will reach US$70bn by 2025, with medical, fitness and wellness expected to be the dominant sectors, according to IDTechEx. The always-on nature of E Ink technology combined with the flexible feature of Organic TFT is ideally suited for wearables, especially for clothing.

OTFT technology offers a light-weight and robust backplane solution for wearable devices. “With the advancement of E Ink’s materials, such as three-colour ePaper materials and ACeP (Advanced Colour ePaper), the combination of colour ePaper and Organic TFT technology can be an attractive display solution for many wearable device manufacturers,” said Johnson Lee, president of E Ink Holdings. “E Ink supports its ecosystem partners, including Plastic Logic, to help enlarge the market for ePaper applications to facilitate the vision of E Ink making every surface smart.”

Plastic Logic HK was formed by Rusnano to bring commercial mass produced OTFT EPD’s to market, building upon the legacy of nearly ten years of investment and support of the technology.

“Using technology originating at Cambridge University, Plastic Logic HK has exclusive access to the leading OTFT technology and is the only company in the industry that can mass produce OTFT backplanes for electronic paper displays,” commented Tim Burne, CEO, Plastic Logic HK. “Following this investment we are delighted to be working more closely with E Ink as Plastic Logic HK completes the last stage of transition to a fabless OTFT EPD display business. Plastic Logic HK will be leveraging E Ink’s supply chain and module facility to improve the cost structure of Plastic Logic’s organic ePaper display module. Plastic Logic HK is a fabless entity that will partner with existing TFT makers to enable them to use the patented organic TFT design and processes needed to make OTFT-based EPD displays.”

Caption: Display technology from Plastic Logic (photo: Plastic Logic)

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